


On Earth (With You)

by weasleytook



Category: The Martian (2015)
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Post-Canon, Romance, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 00:58:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5519576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weasleytook/pseuds/weasleytook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A "meet and greet" turns into something else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Earth (With You)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galfridian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galfridian/gifts).



> Hope you enjoy this bit of fluff for Yuletide!

Mindy Park is wearing a dress. She can’t even remember the last time she had worn a dress. College graduation? Maybe? Long late hours at Mission Control had turned her into a bit of a schlub, but her bosses _insisted_ that everyone wear their finest to Mark Watney’s welcome back party. 

Mark had been back six weeks by then, but needed that time to adjust to being back on Earth again. It is supposed to be a “meet and greet” for all those at NASA and JPL who had been part of his survival, but there are so many people coming at him, that Mindy is only partly sure that she had glimpsed the top of his head once.

She feels bored and strangely like she wants a cigarette even though she had quit smoking three years ago. She settles for some fresh air instead and heads out of the party to a bench underneath a large tree. Finally, some quiet, and no one’s ass she has to kiss to make sure the government keeps funding them. Bringing back Mark had been good PR, but losing Mark in the first place had been a colossal mess. 

Mindy sits on the bench and digs into the tiny purse she brought with her until she finds a pack of mints. This will have to do in place of the cigarette. She closes her eyes and enjoys the slight breeze on an otherwise warm night and gets so lost in thought that she doesn’t even hear him walk up to the bench.

“I see someone else had the same idea I had.”

She opens her eyes, startled, and is shocked to see Mark standing in between the tree and the bench, smiling at her. “Oh. I just – the party was –“

“Overcrowded.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you mind if I sit?”

“Oh, like I’m going to tell a guy who spent two years alone on Mars that he can’t have a seat, come on.”

Mark laughs and takes a seat as she realizes that she just treated him the same way everyone else is, and how that’s probably starting to be incredibly annoying. Or at least _she_ would find all of the praise and attention annoying. So she continues, “Sorry, I’m sure you’re tired of being such a very big deal.”

“You have no idea.”

“So I should be mean to you then?”

“Would you, please?”

She puts a finger on her lips like she’s thinking of something horrible to say, but eventually she just shrugs her shoulders. “Sorry, I can’t do it. Maybe in the future after we’ve gotten to know each other better.”

Mark looks intrigued, or maybe she’s just _hoping_ he is. “That’s fair. So you know who I am, who are you?”

“Oh. I’m Mindy. Mindy Park. I work in Mission Control.”

She doesn’t know whether to offer a hand to formalize the introduction or not, so she just kind of smiles awkwardly at him.

“You’re Mindy? That Mindy?”

“ _That_ Mindy? That doesn’t sound good.”

“I just mean – thank you. You saved my life.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration. All of those people in there saved your life, and there wouldn’t have been a life to save if you hadn’t kept it all together. I didn’t really do that much.” 

“Humility. Hmm. I think I like you, Mindy Park.”

Mindy isn’t sure what to say back, because “Hey, you’re amazing” would make her sound like an idiot. And what do you ask the guy who has already been asked every dumb question possible in the past six weeks?

She smiles again, less awkward this time. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but your party sucks.”

He sighs loudly, as if in relief. “Thank God someone finally said it.”

“If you’re up for it, I know an amazing Korean place a couple miles from here. Much better than the fancy food they’re walking around on trays in there.”

Mark looks like he’s thinking about it, and she continues, “I’m sorry, I’m not being too forward, am I?”

“I just spent two years alone on Mars, then six months on a ship with a group of people who definitely aren’t on the market, so no, I’m not going to turn down dinner with an attractive woman.”

He stands up and glances back at where the party is still going on. “Give me about an hour to make the rounds and make up some excuse about how I’m overwhelmed by crowds, and then I’ll meet you back here.”

She nods in agreement, then stands and starts walking back to the party with him. She pauses for a second and gives him a look before she says, “You know, you’re not as tall as I thought you’d be.”

“So I see you’ve gotten past your inability to be mean already.”

Mindy winks at him before splitting off to go talk to some of her Mission Control colleagues. Maybe being forced into attending this party wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

 

#####

 

He doesn’t kiss her on the first date. And by the third date, she starts to worry if maybe they’re not actually dating and she’s completely misreading things. They go to a movie, some fun but forgettable action movie. They end up being the last people to leave the theatre, because they spend the entire end credits talking about the improbability of the final chase scene. When they reach the exit door, Mark stops and puts his hands at her waist and pulls her close to him.

“Here? Now?”

“Is that a problem?”

Mindy smiles and shakes her head, and is still smiling when Mark leans in for a kiss.  His lips are soft and warm, and it’s just the right amount of aggressive but gentle. She wants to make it last so much longer, but she hears one of the teenage theatre employees clear their throat and she breaks it off with a laugh. 

“Come on, Watney. Let’s get out of here.”

 

#####

 

Six months in, they’re in her bed together when Mark reaches for his phone on the nightstand. Mindy kisses his cheek and then reaches for her own phone and says, “You know, I’d be more offended that you only went for one minute in the afterglow before you reached for your phone, but uhh, I have e-mails to answer.” 

Mark laughs and Mindy reads her e-mails and listens to the soft sounds of his keyboard clicking away. It used to be a noise that annoyed her, but with Mark, it’s kind of comforting, like she doesn’t even have to see him to know he’s there.

They’ve kept things mostly quiet, because he doesn’t want the press bothering her. She’s not bothered by any of that, because it’s been perfect. Mark is the perfect combination of _super_ science nerd and guy who can make her laugh and talk about things that aren’t science. There are nights he has nightmares about Mars, but she’s usually there to help him through it. Otherwise, he’s relatively normal for someone who has been through what he has.

He suddenly puts his phone down and looks at her, his mouth in a straight line and she knows he’s about to say something serious, so she puts her phone down too.

“Northwestern offered me a teaching position.”

“The same Northwestern that’s in Chicago and not Houston?”

“That’s the one.”

“Oh.”

Mark looks at her as if he’s searching her face for the answers. It’s been six months, not long in the grand scheme, but long enough for her to know she doesn’t want him to go.

“So?”, he asks.

“I don’t like that idea.”

He smiles and gives her a brief kiss. “Good, because neither do I.”

She breathes a sigh of relief. He wants to stay, she thinks to herself, and sure, part of it is because NASA will do anything to keep him there, but it’s also because he wants to stay for _her_.

“You know, every university and every company that’s even remotely related to your skillset will always want to hire you. What are you going to do if one of those offers is too good to refuse?”

She doesn’t want to pressure him, but part of her needs to know if he’s going to someday break her heart.

“I don’t know, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re always part of the plan.”

 

#####

 

Mindy is sitting on their bed, still in her pajamas, when Mark steps out of the walk-in closet dressed for his first day of teaching. He still plans on consulting on future missions, but teaching means more normal hours and less stress.

“That tie is terrible. Where did you get that tie?”

“It was a gift from Martinez when he found out I was going into teaching.”

She stands up and starts to undo it for him, shaking her head all the while. “Listen, I love Martinez and obviously I’d trust him with both our lives, but the man cannot shop.”

Mindy pulls the tie off and tosses it aside, then starts to unbutton the shirt he’s wearing. He grins a little and says, “Oh, I like this.”

“Hold that thought, space cowboy.”

She pulls the shirt all the way off and then steps into the closet, returning with a sweater. “Just go simple, relaxed, cool. Works every time.”

Mindy can tell he’s nervous, and she finds it unendingly adorable that Mark Watney, American Hero, first Mars colonist, the guy who survived everything is worried about teaching a class. He puts the sweater on and she grabs his glasses off the nightstand and puts them on for him, before giving him a kiss.

“Much better. You’re going to do great, Mr. Park.”

“Okay, Mrs. Park, we’ve gone over this. As much as I love you, and as much as I don’t care that you didn’t take my last name, I am not, nor will I ever be Mark Park.”

She laughs and gives him another kiss. “Fine then, Professor Watney. Go knock ‘em dead, okay?”

He heads to the bedroom door, but then pauses to look back. “So Korean food for dinner, and then maybe we finish what you started when you were undressing me just now?”

“That’s the plan.”

He walks off, but she can hear him say as he heads out the door, “I’m a lucky, lucky man.”


End file.
